Team Yankee

Title		Team Yankee
Game Type	3D Combat Sim
Players		1
Compatibility	All
Submission	angus@angusm.demon.co.uk

Review
Team Yankee is based on the book of the same name, which incidentally came
with this game in the original packaging, and follows the adventures of an
American Tank Commander. I believe the action takes place in Germany, and
the Soviets have decided that the cold war would be much more fun if
somebody turned up the heat a bit. In other words it`s an all out
conventional war, with the Russian hordes streaming westwards across
Europe with just you and your guys to see them off. Unlike Microprose`s M1
Tank Platoon, the game uses sprites rather than using, but the 3D effect
works quite well, albeit with limitations. There are for instance no hills
or valleys, which is obviously a defficiency in a game of this type, but
there are atleast wooded areas that allow the player to make some use of
the ground, and there is the ability to bring down smoke, as well as the
use of thermal vision. You are actually in control of four vehicle groups,
of four vehicles each, and you can decide from a limited choice what type
of vehicle, or what mixture of vehicles comprises each group. I`m a bit of
a Main Battle Tank fiend myself, but you might choose other vehicles like
the ITV, Improved TOW Vehicle, TOW stands for Tube launched Optically
tracked Wire guided, so you`ll be hurling missiles around with this one.
The display can be adjusted to show the view from any one vehicle, or from
four vehicles at once. The latter is sometimes essential, because while
you`re storming into one of your objectives, it will pay you to have other
units watching your rear from a concealed position, and able to support
you should the need arise. There`s an easy to use �automatic pilot� so
control of your units from a map screen is very intuitive. The game is
quite fun and accessible if you have any interest in this sort of thing.
It`s quite a challenge to achieve your objectives without casualties, and
when your carefully laid approach plan gets shattered by unforeseen
events, like, �Where the hell did all those bloody tanks come from?� there
is some genuine excitement, not to say outright panic. Each mission is
fixed, that is to say, if there was a concealed Soviet tank in those trees
last time, it`ll be there next time as well, which is helpful if you`re
having real difficulties but obviously not realistic. A good game then,
and well worth a look if this sort of thing interests you.

Alphabetical list.